Bush Announces a Presidential Run

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves to a crowd on June 15 at Miami Dade College, where he announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

On Monday, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced that he is running for President in 2016. He chose to make his announcement at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida, he said, because it “is a place that welcomes everyone with their hearts set on the future—a place where hope leads to achievement, and striving leads to success.”

Bush is considered to be a frontrunner among the dozen or so Republican candidates running for President. Should he win his party’s nomination, he will face the top Democrat in the general election on November 8, 2016.

The son and brother of two former Presidents, Bush adopted a serious tone during his speech. “We are 17 months from the time for choosing,” he said. “The stakes for America’s future are about as great as they come. Our prosperity and our security are in the balance.”

JOBS AND EDUCATION

The former Governor was joined on stage by his wife, Columba, their three children, George, Noelle, and Jeb Jr., and four grandchildren. In his speech, Bush focused on his record as a two-term Governor of Florida, one of the nation’s most diverse states. “We made Florida number one in job creation,” Bush said, “and number one in small business creation.” If elected President, he would set a goal of adding 19 million jobs to the U.S. economy.

Bush also spoke about his efforts to improve education. “After we reformed education in Florida, low-income student achievement improved here more than in any other state,” he said. “We stopped processing kids along as if we didn’t care—because we do care.”

AN “OPTIMISTIC” MESSAGE

Toward the end of his speech, Bush introduced his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush. He was briefly interrupted by the shouts of pro-immigration activists. After the crowd drowned out the activists by clapping and chanting, Bush promised that if he were elected President, he would address the uncertain legal status of many immigrants.

With supporters applauding him, Bush spoke briefly in Spanish, the native language of his wife, who was born in Mexico. He concluded by saying, “In any language, my message will be an optimistic one because I am certain that we can make the decades just ahead the greatest time ever to be alive in this world.”